A Cord of Three Strands
by LadyLefaye
Summary: What if Sasuke had chosen to come back to Konoha with Naruto after they fought? [Sasuke x Naruto x Sakura]


A/N: This story was written for the ficondemad live journal community in response to the following request:

_I'm requesting a Sasuke/Naruto/Sakura fic. A threesome, not a love triangle. I will be happy with any rating, but I am immensely bored by pure smut. (Sadly.) On the other hand, smut to show how you see them working together would be fun. But I'd be equally happy with a random bit of pointless fluff. Or something angsty about Sasuke after ep. 109 and how that would work in the context of a threesome. I'm not really picky. All I really care about is that it be a Sasuke/Naruto/Sakura threesome. Please. _

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Somehow, he didn't thinking winning against Naruto would feel so hollow. One moment, he was fully prepared to end his best friend's life in order to achieve the full potential of his Sharingan, and the next, he was cradling Naruto's body next to his own, fighting with all he had to prevent the tears brimming in his eyes from slipping down his face. He was not strong enough to resume living a life devoid of friendship and love. He was not strong enough to hate as his brother had told him to hate. He was not strong enough to go that route and remain Sasuke. That path would only lead to destruction. 

So together, Sasuke and Naruto made their way back to Konoha. Each of them could sense that before they were even halfway to their destination, several shinobi had begun tailing them, but so long as they continued to move homeward, their guards seemed content to remain at a distance. It was only after the city walls became visible that Kakashi (who was one of the ninja silently escorting them home) appeared by their side and casually mentioned that the Hokage would probably like to see them shortly after their arrival. Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke, allowing them to enter Konoha with some sense of dignity rather than under armed guard.

When they actually reached the gates of the city, each of them leaning on the other for support, Sakura was already standing there to greet them, as if she had sensed their presence from a distance. Unlike Sasuke, she was not so careful with her tears, and she allowed them to flow freely as she rushed forward to embrace them both. For several long moments, she was content to merely hold them, sobbing into their shoulders. Then, with her one arm still firmly wrapped around Sasuke, she pulled Naruto in close, murmuring 'thank you' before kissing him in gratitude.

It was at that moment Sasuke finally realized what he needed. In the past, their dynamic had always been unbalanced. Sakura pined over him as Naruto pined over her while Sasuke thought only of Itachi. But what they had at this moment, with all three of them so entwined together that it was impossible to tell where one person let off and the other began…this could be a source of true strength. They say a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. All he had to do was reach out and accept what was unconsciously being offered to him by his two teammates, and he would have such strength.

So, before he could change his mind or let his self-doubt take over, Sasuke pulled Sakura away from a stunned Naruto and drew her in for his own kiss. He had never actually kissed a girl before (and it had been an accident when he kissed Naruto), so his movements were sloppy and inexpert, but he somehow doubted that mattered to Sakura. He could practically hear her inner squeal of excitement even though the only audible sound she made was a tiny whimper.

After a brief time, Sasuke ended his kiss with Sakura, but he made sure to keep an arm firmly tucked around both her and Naruto. With the way both of them were standing there with their mouths agape, he was half afraid they were going to faint from shock.

Naruto, never being one to stand still for long, was the first to break the tension. With his trademark grin on his face, he turned to Sasuke and asked, "so…does this mean I get a kiss too?"

Sasuke and Sakura both bopped him on the head in unison, and suddenly the tension melted and everything seemed to feel normal again. No…better than normal.

Normal was fighting and bickering and keeping secrets and showing preferential treatment to one over the other. Normal was lying and betrayal and tears and sparring matches that came too close to being fights to the death. Normal would not be enough to keep Sasuke from trying to leave Konoha once again. But that did not matter, because they were starting down a path to something much, much better than normal.

A path to a place where Sasuke didn't mind that Sakura actually earned the rank of Chuunin before either him or Naruto (because of course she had an analytical mind to go along with the strength she was gaining through training, and she had never rushed headlong into battle without thought or tried to leave everything behind for a whispered promise of power). A path to a place where all three of them functioned as a seamless unit, compensating for the weaknesses of the others and helping one another grow stronger. A path to a place where Sasuke didn't mind kissing Naruto as he kissed Sakura (because by then they had become so enmeshed in one another's lives that to not carry that complicated tangle over into the bedroom would have destroyed all that they had built and left them feeling hollow). A path to a place where all three of them had an equal part in destroying Itachi (a feat that Sasuke never could have accomplished on his own).

A path to a united future, where all three of them could be happy together.


End file.
